TASHKENT (Sputnik) – An accord setting up an international transportation corridor connecting Central Asia and the Persian Gulf entered into force on Saturday, Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry announced.
The deal, known as Ashgabat Agreement, was signed in 2011 by Oman, Iran, Turkmenistan, Qatar and Uzbekistan. Qatar withdrew from the project in 2013, while Kazakhstan joined the international transit and transport corridor project in February 2015.
"The document aims to create a reliable transport corridor for smooth transportation and transit of goods between the countries of Central Asia and the ports of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea," Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry in a statement.
The agreement aims to increase the speed of goods transportation to optimize the transport costs, and is expected to simplify and harmonize procedures and official documents, the ministry outlined.